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SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY BHARRAT JAGDEO, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA AT A STATE BANQUET OFFERED IN HIS
HONOUR BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA

Your Excellency President Abdul Kalum
Honourable Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am delighted to be back in India as your guest so shortly after my last visit. I wish to thank the Government of India for this honour.
The memories of that visit are still fresh in my mind. The many places that I visited were representative of both India’s glorious past and its promising future. Everywhere I went I was received with the most gracious hospitality. And as you are aware, I discovered my ancestral roots in a small village in Uttar Pradesh.
Of special importance to me were the cordial discussions which I had with the Government of India, not only on Guyana/India relations but also on regional and international issues of interest and concern to both our countries. Out of those discussions emerged a great measure of agreement to enhance our bilateral cooperation in several important fields.
I am especially pleased to note that some of the programmes and projects upon which we agreed have already been initiated. Today I had further discussions with the Prime Minister on these and other issues. With cooperation in sports and sugar and the expansion of the ITEC programme, we will be witnessing in 2004 increased contact and collaboration between our countries. We now need to work to the early conclusion of a Bilateral Investment Treaty and Double Taxation Agreement.
You will be pleased to learn Excellency that Guyana has now reached the completion point under the enhanced HIPC initiative. This would allow us to utilize resources previously allocated to debt servicing, for national development programmes. I am deeply grateful for India’s support of our case in the multilateral financial institutions.
Mr. President, Guyana has an abiding interest in maintaining close relations with its neighbours and in sustaining dialogue in the search for a peaceful solution to our border controversies. In that regard, I welcome the bold decision taken by Prime Minister Vajpayee to resume bilateral talks with Pakistan aimed at settling the differences between the two countries. We are heartened by the progress made and wish you every success.
We applaud especially India’s contribution to the efforts of the nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to achieve greater integration and commend the Association on the signature of the additional protocol on Terrorism.
Excellency, my Government appreciates the leadership role that India continues to play in the international community and is particularly pleased that India has demonstrated an interest in strengthening relations with the Caribbean Community as evidenced by the recent visit to India by the Secretary General of the Community.
In this period of turmoil and violence in the world, we are committed to working with India for international peace and security. It is for this reason that Guyana has decided to support the candidature of India for a permanent seat on the Security Council. We believe that by expanding that body to include some leading developing countries it will become more balanced, representative and effective.
On this visit, I will have the opportunity – thanks to the gracious invitation extended to me by Prime Minister Vajpayee – to participate in a dialogue with the Diaspora. The Diaspora can be a valuable resource especially in preserving and sharing with the rest of the world the richness of the Indian culture and civilisation. Diversity is important in a world where globalisation is pushing us to a universal western culture.
During my last visit, I had informed you of my Government’s decision to re-open our High Commission in India. I wish to assure you that we have already begun to put arrangements in place and I hope that by mid-year we would have a functional diplomatic presence in New Delhi.
Mr. President, as a guest who has now twice enjoyed your kind hospitality, I wish to renew my invitation to you and to Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit Guyana so that I would be given the opportunity of reciprocating the warm welcome which you have extended to me in India.
It remains for me only to reiterate my warmest appreciation and thanks for all the courtesies extended to my delegation, and to wish you and the people of India the very best in this New Year.
I am pleased to now propose a toast to your good health and to the continued prosperity of the Indian people in the years ahead.

JANUARY 8, 2004